Several parts of Delhi experienced long power cuts on Friday due to technical faults and precautionary shutdowns implemented to prevent electrocution in waterlogged areas following heavy rainfall.
Residents of Dwarka, Jangpura and Laxmi Nagar said the power supply was disrupted as soon as it started raining in their areas.
"The power supply was cut around 3-4 am amid heavy rains and was restored hours later at 4 pm," a Jangpura resident Pranav Mishra said.
Many areas, including Nizamuddin, Jangpura, Sector 7 in Dwarka, parts of Pitampura, Rohini, Model Town, Mukherjee Nagar, Timarpur, parts of Hauz Khas, Green Park, Mayapuri, Sangam Vihar, Paharganj, Sadar Bazar, Ram Nagar, Bara Hindu Rao, Karawal Nagar, Sonia Vihar, Seelampur, Laxmi Nagar, and Trilok Puri, faced power outages of varying durations.
"Heavy rains caused power disruptions in several areas of the city, primarily due to waterlogging and the falling of trees and branches on electricity cables. To safeguard human lives and prevent electrocution, it became necessary to cut the electricity supply in some waterlogged and low-lying areas as a precautionary measure," a spokesperson of BSES discoms (distribution companies) BRPL and BYPL said.
In most cases, the power supply was quickly restored by the quick response teams of the BSES, he said.
"However, it took a little longer than usual to restore electricity in some other areas as we had to wait for the water to recede," the spokesperson said.
The rain and thunderstorm caused disruption of power supply in parts of north Delhi, a spokesperson of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) said.
The supply was disrupted in areas, including Model Town, Azadpur and Indira Vihar, among others.
"Due to the DTL supply failure of the 220 KV Gopalur to Indra Vihar line, the power supply was affected for a short duration of 2-10 minutes in some areas. The TPPDL teams acted swiftly and restored supply within 10 minutes in the majority of the areas," he said.
A discom official said the rain caused damages to power lines, poles and other installations in different parts of the national capital causing the outages. However, repair works to restore the supply were undertaken immediately, he added.
"The power supply discontinued for 5-10 minutes several times during and after the rain. It was troublesome because early morning people try to fill their water tanks with DJB supply and prepare to leave for work," Ravi, a resident of Lalita Park in east Delhi, said.
Heavy rain lashed Delhi early Friday, waterlogging roads across the city and causing a portion of the roof of the Delhi airport's Terminal 1 to collapse.
The Safdarjung weather station recorded 153.7 mm of rainfall, which began around 3 am. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines very heavy rain, amounting to 124.5 to 244.4 mm of rain in a day.
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